Midnight Of No Return (Midnight Blue Beach Book 2)

by Olivia Jaymes

  “He’s dead because he tried to help us,” Bailey whispered. “Archer Caldwell killed him.”

  Ellis shook his head, his lips a flat line. “We don’t know that. It could have been Grant Hollister—he was there too. Or someone else we don’t even know about. Fucking Evandria.”

  Willow didn’t want it to be Grant. She’d liked him and her gut told her to trust him.

  “It doesn’t make sense for Grant to have done it,” she argued, shifting the dog slightly on her lap. “Why bother to sneak into the cafe to warn me not to trust him if he was only going to kill him a few minutes later?”

  “To discredit Nigel,” Bailey said defensively. “He’s trying to make him out to be the bad guy.”

  “Maybe he is the bad guy.” Willow didn’t want to hurt Bailey’s feelings but she had to express her own. “The whole reason he talked to us was to get us to back off and leave Evandria alone. And he lied about Stephen Baxter. He was in Arsenal too.”

  “Says Grant,” Bailey flung back, a few tears slipping down her face. “I’m not sure we can trust him. He wants us to stop investigating too. He could be lying through his teeth about Archer being the killer.”

  “So could Nigel. But Grant is offering us proof—that’s more than Nigel is.”

  Bailey sat up and looked like she was going to continue arguing but Peyton stepped between them. “Stop. Stop this shit right now. Look, now they’ve got us fighting with each other and that was probably their plan all along.”

  Ellis twisted open a beer bottle and tossed the cap in the trash. “You can bet it was. Personally, I don’t think we can trust any one of these assholes. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all liars until proven otherwise. But Hollister is going to get a chance to convince me tonight. Until then, nothing they said is the truth. Wait, except for one thing. We’re in danger and they want us dead. Now that I believe.”

  “You’ll all get to talk to Grant tonight,” Willow said. “We’ll see his evidence and you can judge for yourselves.”

  “Do you think he’ll still show up?” Peyton asked. “After what happened to Nigel? He could be in danger too.”

  “He is in danger. He told me so.”

  Ellis’s brows went up. “Did he name names as to who wants him dead?”

  He hadn’t except for Archer, which was a given. “We can ask him for details tonight, but I believe him over Archer Caldwell. I don’t believe he’s truly looking for the killer no matter what he says. He gives me the creeps.”

  “Doesn’t make him a liar,” Peyton cautioned.

  Willow laughed but it wasn’t funny. “Doesn’t make him a truther either. The man is strange and he clearly has secrets. Lots of them. He’s an arrogant SOB too.”

  Josh laid a hand on hers. “Let’s just say that Archer Caldwell doesn’t inspire much trust. He tends to not answer direct questions and he’s constantly trying to turn conversations in the direction he wants them to go. I can definitely see him protecting someone in the organization. He wouldn’t want a messy murder investigation ruining Evandria’s reputation.”

  Chase threw up his hands in frustration. “Then where does that leave us?”

  Josh glanced at Willow before he answered. “Right now Grant is our only hope of getting any information. We need to question him and find out what he knows, with a skeptical eye, of course. We can’t take everything he says as true but we need to listen to what he has to say. You know what that means, my friends.”

  Frowning, Ellis shook his head. “What does it mean?”

  Josh stood and tossed his empty water bottle into the trash. “If I’m going to meet some guy at midnight, I’m going to need a nap first. I’m not twenty-two anymore. I’ll see you all in a few hours.”

  There were some chuckles as Josh disappeared out of the kitchen and up the stairs. What was she doing sitting here? She could use a nap as well. Jumping up, she waved toward her friends.

  “Make yourselves at home. Eat or drink anything you want. I think I need to rest too.”

  She didn’t imagine the laughter as she trailed after Josh.

  Josh stretched and opened his eyes slowly, the sun still high in the sky this time of year despite the hour. It was dinnertime according to his empty stomach but he didn’t immediately move to get out of bed, content to let Willow cuddle close, her head on his chest. Her hair was draped over his arm, tickling the skin whenever she fidgeted in her sleep.

  Staring at the ceiling, he replayed the day in his head from the moment he’d seen Nigel Holmwood to the sound of his car exploding. The man was certainly an enigma from what Bailey had told them. A businessman who had kept most of his life under wraps. When pinned down, she had admitted that she didn’t know all that much about him personally or professionally. She’d been told just enough to assuage any curiosity but no more. That seemed to be a theme with this organization.

  But with the car bomb today and Grant Hollister’s warning, Josh needed to put all of his concentration on keeping Willow safe. He was more convinced than ever that her life was indeed in danger and that Evandria wouldn’t think twice about eliminating her if they thought she knew something they wanted kept a secret.

  A sigh and her stirring alerted him that she was no longer asleep. He ran his hand down her back and pressed a kiss to her nose, watching her eyelids flutter open.

  “Hi.”

  Her voice was soft and sleep-roughened, and his heart squeezed in his chest. He’d fallen for this woman, head over heels, and he didn’t think he’d ever get out. Nor did he really want to. She was straightforward, blisteringly honest, smart, funny, and so endearingly imperfect it made him want to hold and kiss her every moment of the day. She could burn water and possibly set her own kitchen on fire but instead of finding it annoying, she somehow managed to make it cute.

  The only fly in the ointment was her money. He didn’t want it and honestly, it was a nuisance. It created a barrier between them that he wasn’t sure how to deal with. She’d laughed at him last night as they were falling asleep when he’d admitted that he’d prefer she was still a stripper than a wealthy widow. He’d inwardly winced when he said it because it sounded horrid but she hadn’t taken offense, understanding what he couldn’t seem to express.

  If she was a woman who had everything, what was there left that he could give her?

  Of course, his sweet Willow had an answer. Love and acceptance. Those two things were something both of them could use more of.

  “Hi,” he echoed back. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Hmmmm, I did. Too well. I don’t want to get up.”

  “It’s early yet. You don’t have to, although eventually we’re going to have to eat.”

  Propping herself on her elbow, she let out a big yawn. “Are they still downstairs?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been awake for a while and haven’t heard anything so I think they went home. I can call Chase and Ellis if you want them back.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I just wondered if we needed to order in some dinner for them. I know they want some alone time for themselves, especially Bailey and Chase. Maybe Peyton and Ellis too.”

  Josh groaned as he pictured his friend in any sort of a loving relationship. He didn’t have the best track record with females. “Peyton is wise to be cautious. Ellis can be challenging to be around at times. He’s completely obsessed with his work and it’s been hard on the women he’s dated in the past.”

  “He definitely seems smitten. When they’re in the same room, his gaze follows her everywhere. It’s like he can’t take his eyes off of her, which is sweet and creepy all at the same time.”

  “He’s a man with laser focus and right now all of his attention is on keeping Peyton safe and alive.”

  “For that I am grateful.” She butted his shoulder with her forehead. “I’m grateful to you too.”

  He stretched and gave her a wicked grin. “Feel free to show me how much.”

  Running her fingertip over his shoulder an
d down his arm, she looked up at him from under her lashes. This woman knew how to flirt.

  “I’m not sure I’d even know how to begin.”

  “I think you do.”

  With a giggle, she lifted the sheet and pulled it over their heads. Dinner was going to have to wait.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Josh groaned as he hit the brakes again, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop. Red lights flashed on top of the emergency vehicles, one firetruck and one police cruiser that had closed down the road, causing bumper to bumper traffic. Ellis and Chase were right behind him in their own vehicles but they were definitely going to be late. It was already after midnight and Willow was fidgeting in her seat, worrying that Grant wouldn’t wait for them.

  At this point, everybody knew their part. The plan was in place to talk with Grant Hollister, what questions to ask, who would ask them, and even who would follow Hollister home after the meeting. Ellis had volunteered for that job and insisted on doing it alone, saying that Josh and Chase needed to stay and protect the women. They also planned to press for their own copy of whatever evidence he was going to show them. Willow desperately wanted to believe that Grant was telling the truth and that Archer had killed Alex but Josh had convinced her that they needed to be skeptical. Archer might be the killer but it just as easily could be a ruse to get her and the other women to quit digging into Evandria. While she was sure that Hollister was telling the truth, Josh was less so. Much less.

  The thought they might be walking into a trap had certainly crossed their minds several times in the last few hours but this was the only lead they had. If they didn’t meet with Hollister, they were at a dead end. Again.

  That was why not only was Ellis wearing a handgun but Chase and Josh as well, strapped to their calves. They’d argued about whether it was asking for trouble, but in the end they’d decided it was better to be too suspicious. Walking into that bar unarmed would be stupid.

  His hand went down to where the gun was situated, brushing the slight bump in his jeans as his heart thumped loudly. A simple veterinarian, he wasn’t a man who dealt with danger and intrigue on a daily basis. Hell, even Ellis didn’t get himself into situations like this often, growling that he dealt with paperwork most of the time but at least he’d been trained. The most dangerous thing Josh did most days was express a dog’s anal glands. They didn’t enjoy that and often let him know.

  “Grant’s not dangerous.”

  Willow’s soft voice pulled him from his thoughts and back to the present – sitting in the car waiting for the traffic to inch forward.

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do,” she pressed, her own hands shaking slightly as she fussed with the strap of her purse. “My former profession gave me a sixth sense about men and he’s a good one. I believe what he says despite what Bailey thinks. Archer killed Alex.”

  “Don’t let him tear you and her apart,” Josh warned. “That’s what Evandria wants to do. Get us arguing among ourselves and off on a tangent. We’ve been through too much to allow that to happen, honey.”

  “I won’t but I just want you to know that I think all of this subterfuge isn’t needed. I think he’s telling the truth.”

  Josh wished he could be as confident, but he wasn’t. It was his job to worry and tonight was a good reason to do it.

  “Even if he is telling the truth, there’s a damn good reason he’s meeting us in the middle of nowhere at midnight. It means that someone is probably watching him and probably us too. This isn’t a friendly drink with a long lost friend. Lives are at stake here. If Archer did do it, he’s not going to be happy that Grant told you.”

  Josh couldn’t allow himself the luxury of even one moment of letting his guard down. That’s when people got hurt.

  “All of our lives,” she said softly. “I got you into this, after all.”

  “Honey, I’m a willing victim.”

  Josh glanced at his watch again. Twelve-ten. With any luck, Hollister got caught in this traffic mess as well. Willow craned her neck to get a better look over the cars in front of them.

  “He won’t wait. He’ll think we aren’t coming.”

  Josh waved a hand toward the line of vehicles they were following at a snail’s pace. “He’s probably up there going five miles an hour with the rest of us. There aren’t any good alternative routes to this fine establishment that he chose. If we’re late, he’s late.”

  “I hope so,” she muttered, her fingers twisting her purse and the knuckles turning white. “I want that evidence, Josh.”

  “I know, honey, but you have to be ready for him either to not have it or what he says proves Archer did it is less than spectacular. I don’t want you getting your hopes up.”

  They were getting close to the “accident” or whatever was blocking the lanes when the police car pulled away, sirens blaring, followed by the fire engine. It appeared that it was those vehicles that had been blocking the lanes and the cars had been getting by on the shoulder. Now that they were gone, traffic quickly sped up.

  “See? We’ll be there in no time.”

  The dinner they’d eaten earlier felt like lead in Josh’s stomach but there was no going back. But even in his dreams earlier he could still hear the explosion when the car bomb had gone off, the acrid smell of smoke, the screams of innocent bystanders along with the sound of their feet running away as fast as they could. That was something he couldn’t protect Willow from.

  The unknown.

  Sure, if someone came at him with a knife or gun he could defend her and himself but the hidden threats were out there. It was a game of chance as to whether they’d find them before it hurt someone. Chances were good that they’d fail. He wasn’t a pessimist by nature, generally a man who expected the best in his life, but right now he needed to be a hard realist. The odds were not in their favor. Not to solve Willow’s husband’s murder and maybe not even to survive the attempt. It was that attitude that kept him vigilant and might just keep them alive.

  He smelled it before he saw it. The sharp smell of burnt wood came through the vents of the air conditioner but it was the bright orange and yellow shooting flames that lit the otherwise dark sky. Slowing the car down, he saw the crowd that had gathered around the burning building as the sound of sirens filled the air.

  Roy’s was on fire.

  Quickly pulling as close as he deemed safe, he and Willow stumbled out of the car in something of a daze. The entire building was engulfed in flames. If anyone had been inside and hadn’t made it out… There was no way they would have survived.

  Willow began to run toward the building and he had to sprint after her, holding her tightly as she struggled against him. “Grant. Grant is in there.”

  She was like a wild thing, crying and thrashing against him until eventually she ran out of energy, sobs wracking her body. The other two couples had come to stand beside them, their own expressions stricken and fearful at the same time. The ramifications of this fire were sinking into their shattered consciousness.

  “You don’t know that, honey. You don’t know that he was in there. He may have realized what was going on and turned back. But you running into a burning building isn’t going to bring him back if he was.”

  The blistering heat pushed him back, dragging Willow along with him, his arm around her to keep her anchored to his side. While Nigel’s death this afternoon had changed everything, this made it a hundred times worse. It was the confirmation of all that he’d feared. Someone was out to kill Willow and they didn’t care who they took out while doing it.

  Ellis had been talking to a few of the people who were watching the building burn and collapse onto itself but he came over to where they all stood silent, not sure what to say or do. Shock kept them immobile.

  “I talked to a few of the witnesses,” Ellis said, his fingers scraping through his hair again. “They said it was an explosion. One of the witnesses surmised it might have been in the kitchen but I think we all know tha
t’s not the case. Anyway, it happened about ten minutes ago.”

  Willow shuddered in Josh’s arms. “If we’d been here…”

  Thank god for Florida traffic jams. His heart was in his throat as his imagination took over, picturing the hell on earth that would have been. That helplessness he’d felt earlier was beginning to overtake all rational thought. He couldn’t keep her safe, not from something like this. It was too unexpected, too random.

  “But we weren’t,” Peyton said, her voice rough from the smoke blowing in their faces. “And maybe Grant wasn’t here either.”

  Peyton was their optimist and this time Josh hoped she was right. For Willow’s sake if nothing else. Grant represented the family she’d never had but might be able to. He could feel the strength of her belief. She wanted Hollister to be a brother to her.

  Bailey was pacing back and forth, muttering under her breath. “I’m sick of this shit. Let’s go to Hollister’s house and see if he had a copy of the evidence there.”

  There was a decent chance that he did but it still wasn’t a good idea.

  “Absolutely not,” Ellis cut in. “He told Willow he was being watched so his home is surely under surveillance. We cannot go there.”

  “We’re probably all being watched,” Josh agreed. “They could be watching us right now, checking to see if their handiwork did the job.”

  Willow and Peyton were clinging to one another, their cheeks damp with tears. Willow rubbed at her eyes, smearing her makeup. “All those innocent people are dead. Because of us.”

  Josh placed his hands on her shoulders so she could lean back on his chest. “This is not your fault. This is on Evandria and no one else. They’re the guilty parties.”

  His gaze met Chase’s and then Ellis’s, an unspoken agreement passing between them. Evandria had to be stopped. This was bigger than who had killed the girls’ husbands. This was about justice and power, who had it and who didn’t.